Ambriel
Ambriel, formerly known as Lahabrea, is the former Arkn Muse of Radiance, Song and Empathy. She is the fifth ArknAngel of prophecy, described as "A queen, fit to rebel". Raised by The Choir (and unaware of her heritage and destiny), she goes on to become the ruler of Paradisium. She later becomes the ruler of Riviera, fulfilling the prophecy foretold by Gar'sha. Ambriel is a key character in The Mayhem Compendium, and the protagonist of Forbidden Knowledge (as well as its follow-up, The Golden Queen, and the prequel, History Backstory Ambriel was born out of an illicit union between Raziel's daughter, Jos’sephine, and the high priestess Kry'atha. Neither woman was aware that Kry'atha had secretly been "seeded" with Hash'bor'kanibal's Hethian power during a tryst; this power was passed on to Jos'sephine, who, in turn, passed it to Ambriel. Jos'sephine watched over the infant after her conception; she remarked on her large brown wings, which she suspected would be "magnificent" when the infant grew up. Ambriel's existence was discovered by Hash'born during a spy mission. King Gilgamesh (who had tried and failed to conceive a child with Kry'atha) was insanely envious and ordered Jos'sehine to be put to death. When Hash'born arrived to arrest Jos'sephine, he found that she had been killed by an outburst of magick energy; however, Ambriel was still alive. After reporting his findings to Gilgamesh (and letting him name the child), Hash'born gave the infant to Raziel, who left her to be fostered by a noble magi family. While in exile, Raziel was able to arrange to spend time with Ambriel during her formative years. He took her to the wooded seventh level of Paradisium, where he secretly gave her rudimentary lessons in magick. Among other things, he instructed her to pick out wood for a staff of her own. As Ambriel ventured into the forest, she found that the flora and fauna seemed to be drawn (and react to) her presence. While Ambriel remembered little of these lessons and understood little of their purpose, they demonstrated to Raziel that she possessed latent magick potential. Ambriel's safety was short-lived. Several years later, the Intoner, Zophiel, was manipulated by Hash'born to attack and kill the magi family during the Paradisium Inquisition. Zophiel took Ambriel (now renamed Lahabrea) into The Choir, to be raised in their domain. While Raziel despised The Choir, he reluctantly allowed Ambriel to be taken, as it was the only way to ensure her safety. Book of the Mother ''(blog) As Ambriel grew up, she remained completely unaware of her true identity. She became known for her virtue and piety, as well as her singing voice. As a young woman, she was chosen to become a Muse. Her induction was conducted by Zophiel, and overseen by the clergy and the city's greatest Arkn warriors, including King Uriel, Ellpagg, and Raphael. In the middle of the ceremony, she went into a trance and (unintentionally) manifested Light Magick: an ability said to be attributed to the Dekn. While initially frightened, Ambriel was relieved when Zophiel decreed that the gods had deemed her power to manifest through light, making her "The Radiant". That evening, Ambriel sneaked into a chapel to observe the Arkn warriors. Among them was Raphael and the knight Ellpagg. Freshly returned from sparring, and suffering from the pain of a minor injury, Ellpagg was angry and looking for a fight; he attacked Ambriel (even though it was forbidden to harm a Muse), leaving her badly injured. After Ambriel awakened, Raphael instructed her not to tell anyone that Ellpagg had attacked her, as it could result in him being put to death. From there, a contingency plan created by Raziel went into effect: while Ambriel recovered from her injuries, Raziel, working with Raphael and Uriel, arranged for her to stay in the Palace (under the guise that she needed time to heal properly), so that they could begin training her in a manner befitting an ArknAngel. While Ambriel recovered, the warrior Japhet was chosen to guard and watch over her, and Uriel would often tell her war stories. When she had (mostly) healed, Uriel helped Ambriel choose a weapon from the royal armory; they eventually settled on a pair of gleaming royal sabers adorned with lion heads (the royal insignia). Uriel began giving Ambriel personal lessons, teaching her how to defend herself against an attacker. In the meantime, Raziel began giving Ambriel rudimentary magick lessons (albeit with many fainting spells along the way), while Raphael gave her lessons on the creation of the Arkn and the Golden Cities. Due to the elixir Raphael gave her, however, Ambriel hallucinated that she was being attacked by a vision of a horned being with flaming wings; in self-defense, she created a ball of burning light which exploded, leaving her badly burned. After her burns had healed, Ambriel was invited to meet with Raziel in the palace gardens. There, she met Azrael, who told her about the Arknangels, humans, and Earth for the first time. As he departed, he asked for a single feather from her wings to remember her by. Ambriel told Raziel that she wanted to visit Earth, and he agreed to do so the following day. Ambriel was awestruck by the strange new world around her, marveling at the similarities between humans and Arkn (noting that a few of them even possessed a spark of magick within them). While on Earth, Ambriel broke the rules, revealing her presence to humans by diving in front of a semi truck to save a small child. Raziel immediately took her back to the Paradisium, but news of her actions still got out; Raphael was outraged when he heard of it, angrily reminding Raziel of "what happens when humans and Arkn interact". When the Day of the Great Calling arrived, Ambriel donned her ceremonial robes, arranged her hair, and made her way to the citadel. Disappointed to find it deserted, she nevertheless performed alone for several hours, dancing and singing praises to the gods. She was interrupted by Raziel, who ordered her to stop, informing her that he couldn't allow the "farce" to continue; that it wasn't her destiny to serve the gods. He invited Ambriel to attend the royal ball with him that evening (even though it was forbidden to court a muse), and took her for a makeover with Phobos. Dressed in couture finery, Ambriel made her appearance at the ball on the arms of Uriel and Raziel; the Arkn aristocrats were awestruck by her beauty, and speculated (based on her looks and bearing) that she possessed royal blood. As the evening wore on, Ambriel become certain that Raziel was hiding something from her. Finally, she demanded that he tell her the truth. Raziel took Ambriel aside, and reluctantly revealed her true name and identity. He told her the sordid history of the Paradisium, including the downfall of the Magi, who had been hunted down and destroyed — including his own kin. Raziel's story was interrupted at Midnight, as a black-robed, scythe-wielding Arkn began the annual ritual sacrifice to the Hethe. Ambriel was shocked when the sacrifice was revealed to be not a Dekn, but an innocent, frightened human. Enraged, she let out a shout in the Hethian tongue, causing a burst of bright light and energy that shattered the windows. The robed priest revealed himself to be Zophiel, and told Ambriel that he planned to kill her, as her arrival fulfilled the prophecy of Cele'Ra'Cria (which marked the beginning of the End Times). Ambriel and Zophiel battled, and Zophiel (upon seeing her power manifest) realized that she was Hethe-blooded. Ambriel caused trees to sprout from the marble floors, surrounding and protecting her. She was teleported away by Raziel in a burst of light, as the ritual sacrifice was carried out as planned. With Ambriel's identity now public knowledge, her life was endangered; she had no choice but to flee the city. After a conference with Uriel, she went to Raphael, who gave her a pack of travel supplies and a set of leather Seraphim armor (a gift from Phobos); in order to disguise her appearance, she instructed Raphael to cut her long, golden-tipped hair short. As Ambriel tried to leave the palace, however, she had a run-in with Ellpagg, who demanded that they finish their earlier fight. Ambriel was able to protect herself by causing vines to grow from the floor and wrap around Ellpagg's weapons. Raziel then quickly sent Ambriel away, telling her that Zophiel had managed to convince the Arkn Council that she was guilty of "Dekn magicks"; she had been sentenced to death. ''Forbidden Knowledge (vlog) Ambriel departed from the Paradisium, leaving behind her personal journal (which was discovered by Ellpagg). She lived on Earth for two years in the guise of an ordinary human, until she was found by The Carver and killed. Carver imprisoned Ambriel in The Infernous, where she was forced to wander a deserted forest while being hunted (and tortured) by Gilgamesh himself. The torture she endured was so extreme that it fractured her mind and memories, as well as her body. (However, she might also have been watched over by Malek during this time, as she was occasionally visited by a friendly dog.) Ellpagg (having escaped from his own imprisonment in The Infernous) informed Azrael, his underling, of Ambriel's importance; he told Azrael that Ambriel's true nature was to be kept a secret: a "forbidden knowledge", as it were. Azrael realized that Ambriel was still trapped in The Infernous; he set out to rescue her, but found doing so difficult, as her memories were scattered about The Infernous in fragments. Despite Ellpagg's insistence that Ambriel would be better off without her memories and emotions (as they would only "get in the way"), Azrael recovered a fragment containing memories of Ambriel's friend, Japhet; he freed this fragment, and gave it to Japhet as a memento. Ambriel saw Azrael's uploaded video of the retrieval and thanked him in the comments section. The Golden Queen After being freed from The Infernous by Azrael and having her fragments reunited on Earth, Ambriel reluctantly returned to the Paradisium under Gar'sha's instructions. Upon her arrival, she was immediately arrested by Zophiel (who had taken the throne in Uriel's absence) and imprisoned. Ambriel was roughly dragged before the Council, and made to face the jeering crowd on the steps of the palace. Zophiel called Ambriel an "abomination", identifying her as the spawn of "the corrupt Arknmagus" and accusing her of practicing "perverse Dekn magicks". As he drew close and threatened her with his scythe, Ambriel uttered Hethian words of "verdant praise"; this caused a massive tree to grow from the marble steps of the palace, cutting off Zophiel (and possibly killing him). Ambriel lost consciousness as the power consumed her. When Ambriel recovered, she was cared for by Azrael. He informed her that her actions in front of the Council had inspired the citizens of Paradisium to rise up in revolution, overthrow the corrupt government, and slaughter the aristocracy. The people believed Ambriel to be a goddess or prophet, and were calling for her to be made queen. Ambriel was reluctant to take the throne, but Azrael informed her that all the rest of the Arknza had vanished (including Uriel), and that Elysia had been destroyed, leaving the Arkn in need of a ruler. With Azrael and Phobos's encouragement, Ambriel's coronation was carried out, and she took the throne. As Queen of the Arkn, Ambriel made Phobos (the last surviving Seraphim) the General of her Army, and invited the nomadic nobles who had fled the Paradisium to return home. Among them was Helios, who became Ambriel's personal bodyguard. While she was now safe, Ambriel suffered from severe PTSD, brought on by her time in The Infernous; she continued to be haunted by nightmares and flashbacks of being hunted by Gilgamesh, and suffered from panic attacks. Ambriel briefly paid a visit to Lazarus Delphar, who had become the king of New Elysia. During their visit, Delphar remarked on Ambriel's unusual amber eyes; she informed him that they had only turned yellow during her stay in The Infernous, but he insisted that it must be an important sign, as only born royals had amber eyes. Queen of Riviera Later, while in the throes of a mystical trance, Ambriel grabbed onto the strings of Riviera; she received a vision of Gar'sha, The Mother, who told her that her destiny was to rule over the revived kingdom of Riviera. "The Arkn bathed in golden light who speaks in the green shade will bring the end of those who shout worship choked in waves of blood. The circles of knowledge will soar once again in the skies and the Paradise of magic will once again overflow with the songs of praise, becoming a dirge for those who dared tread on my name and a hymn for those who would raise it back to the skies." Gar'sha cast Ambriel back to reality with one last strange message: ''“Go with my will and my word; Mak'kran'grash.” ''Despite her personal fears and misgivings, Ambriel decided to use this as a opportunity to make peace with the Dekn. Redgrave (the ruler of the new Dekn realm) accepted Ambriel's invitation, and both Arkn and Dekn attended her coronation in Riviera. Ambriel went on to revitalize the kingdom. While the End Times commenced, and some Arkn and Dekn refused to give up on the conflict with the Arkn (and took the battle into the human realm), Riviera became a safe haven of neutrality for Arkn, Dekn, and Humans alike. There, Ambriel reigned until the time arrived for her to return to Paradisium and face The Carver (and Gilgamesh) in the final battle. The Battle of the Arknza In order to stand a chance in the fight, Ambriel decided to use magick to weaponize the Paradisium. To do so, however, she required assistance. Raguel helped her do so, guarding over her as she commenced with the magick ritual. Redgrave also showed up, pretending to be on their side (though he was secretly working for The Carver). Uriel fought The Carver to the last breath, but was ultimately defeated. As he died, he used the last of his power to seal the gates of the city, protecting Ambriel just as she finished weaponizing Paradisium. Ambriel sacrificed herself into the city's core, awakening the city and mobilizing it; Ambriel's own Hethian blood acted as the fuel for the now mechanized city, which battled Carver and destroyed both his and Gilgamesh's armies. Now weaponized, the Paradisium was mobilized and begins to wipe out both Clubs and The Carver's army. Carver and Clubs retreated as their armies were attacked, but were chased by Ellpagg. As Ellpagg caught up, Carver turned on Clubs and killed him, absorbing him fully into his own power. A fully powered-up Ellpagg and the now fully powered Carver battled as Ambriel and the weaponized Paradisium destroyed the army behind them. As the army was defeated, Ambriel's essence died, having exhausted all of its power. Paradisium's rings crashed down into the ocean below, interrupting the fight with a massive tidal wave (causing Ellpagg and The Carver to take their fight air-born, unto the tallest mountain in the Aetherium). Appearance Ambriel is full-figured and short in stature. She has dark brown hair and the signature bright blue eyes of the Hethe-blooded (which turn a golden hue during her time in The Infernous). As a Muse, she wears her hair long with gold tips; when she flees Paradisium, she has Raphael cut her hair short in order to disguise her appearance. Ambriel's most striking feature by far is her wings, which are brown with cream-colored primaries and very large in comparison to other Arkn. As a member of the Choir, Ambriel dresses in simple and modest robes. For the Day of Great Calling festivities, she is dressed in flowing, diamond-bedecked white robes with detached gossamer sleeves and a translucent train, giving her an appearance like an angel from human lore; her wings are also armored with gold plating, a practice normally reserved for royals. While on the run, Ambriel dresses in simple peasant's clothing (a brown shirt and pants) and elaborate leather Seraphim armor. For her Paradisium coronation, Ambriel wears a scarlet gown covered with traditional golden armor. As the ruling Queen, she normally wears elaborate, regal-looking outfits designed by Phobos (typically in the colors white, gold, and scarlet). In Riviera, Ambriel's appearance is much the same, though her clothing is less elaborate and more "natural". Personality Ambriel is bright and inquisitive. She has a gentle, sensitive heart, and is very devoted and caring. However, she isn't afraid to do what needs to be done to help others. She is also highly passionate, and tends to be emotionally driven. Skills and Abilities Ambriel's Hethian blood grants her massive power and superior magical potential. Her power originates from Gar'sha, and grants her the ability of life force manipulation, in the form of control over and generation of plant life. She is effectively Raziel's counterpart, representing the power and primality of magick (in contrast to Raziel's monitored and balanced approach). Ambriel also possesses the power of Hethian Words, in the form of a blessing from Gar'sha. However, she rarely uses it, as it is extremely destructive. Despite possessing powerful Hethian Magick, Ambriel is the weakest of the Arkanza, and lacks many of the skills known to the Arkn (such as Telekinesis, Teleporting, and Shadow Control). She is a competent sword fighter, having been trained by Uriel himself. Quotes Notes and Trivia * Ambriel is, chronologically speaking, the youngest ArknAngel (barring Chamuel). * Ambriel is descended from two Hethe: Gar'sha (via Jos’sephine), and De'ebo (via Kry'atha/The Carver). * Ambriel's power of life force manipulation (which manifested in the generation of plant life) is also demonstrated by Raphael. * Ambriel is the only ArknAngel to rule over two kingdoms. She is also the only one to be the subject of two prophecies. * Ambriel is a dramatic foil to Ellpagg: ** Both are Arknza born of noble blood, through the manipulation of The Carver. ** Both are rulers. ** Both were betrayed by governing Arkn bodies (Ellpagg by the Royal Council, Ambriel by the Council of Paradisium). ** Both endure legendary suffering in the Infernous. ** Both are absurdly stubborn, with fiery tempers (though it takes much more to bring it out in Ambriel) and a tendency to go above and beyond the call of duty, even at the cost of their own safety. ** While Ellpagg allows his suffering to turn him into a monster who rages against both the Arkn and the Dekn, Ambriel rises above her suffering and becomes a shining beacon of light for Arkn and the Dekn alike. Gallery Ambriel-0.jpg|Ambriel (in human form) in The Infernous. AmbrielArt1.png|Artist's depiction of Ambriel. tumblr_nwvglqXMmU1rm39zjo1_540.jpg|Original Ambriel art. 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